Protecting Your Financial Future

The stock market's volatile, the job market is tepid and we read daily about how we're not saving enough. This drumbeat of dread is overdone. Employers, policymakers and financial firms are coming up with new strategies to improve financial safety nets in ways big and small. The concept of retirement need not be retired.

The joy of having children is often accompanied by financial anxiety. The life insurance and estate planning challenges, not to mention competing savings needs, are particularly intense for older parents. There are no easy answers. But there are guidelines.